Largest Nowruz Celebration Outside Iran at UCLA, March 8
For Immediate Release
FARHANG FOUNDATION HOLDING LARGEST IRANIAN NEW YEAR
CELEBRATION OF NOWRUZ OUTSIDE OF IRAN AT UCLA ON MARCH 8
Experience a colorful, cultural day of music, dance, food and children’s activities
Sunday, March 8, 12 to 5 p.m.
UCLA’s Dickson Court North and South (adjacent to Royce Hall)
Nowruz Celebration info: Farhang.org/NowruzLA
Darya Dadvar Concert
6 p.m.
UCLA’s Royce Hall
Tickets: $25-$220, available on Ticketmaster
LOS ANGELES, February 13, 2020 - A horn sounds, a twirl of colorful silk waves by, kisses on the cheek are exchanged and the Iranian New Year is arriving! Farhang Foundation’s 12th annual celebration of Nowruz returns to UCLA on March 8, from noon to 5 p.m.
Nowruz is the most colorful and lively Iranian event of the year, and Farhang Foundation’s festival—the largest celebration of its kind in the western world—welcomes spring with an exciting program for all ages including music, dance, food and children’s activities.
Visitors can take part in the festival exploring Iranian culture, one of the oldest in the world, while also embracing the first day of spring—that universal time of renewal and rebirth. Celebrated on the vernal equinox in Iran, Afghanistan, China, the U.S., India, Tajikistan, and Turkey, Nowruz (“new day”), is welcomed with vibrant displays of culture by more than 75 million people around the world.
All outdoor activities are free and open to the public, and will take place in Dickson Court North and South, which are adjacent to each other and to Royce Hall. The Darya Dadvar concert begins at 6 p.m. and is a ticketed event.
Farhang Foundation's 2020 Winning Nowruz Banner Design by Setareh Feylizadeh
Anticipation for the Farhang Foundation’s festival kicks off with the foundation’s annual Street Nowruz Banner Design Competition, which has become a Los Angeles tradition. Since 2011, every fall the foundation puts out a call to artists, illustrators and graphic designers to submit original designs that capture the essence of Nowruz. The winning design is featured on hundreds of pole banners throughout the city February 1 to March 31.
This year’s banner competition winner is Paris-based graphic designer Setareh Feylizadeh, founder of the firm Lozi Graphic Design. Feylizadeh reached back to her Iranian roots, finding inspiration in Iran’s famed 19th-century Qajar portraiture. “For me, Qajar imagery always sparks the notion of old and new, past and present. The new year reflects these qualities as it is a time to reflect on tradition, but also instills the hope of transformation and renewal,” says Feylizadeh.
The day’s lively program runs from noon to 5 p.m. Here is the lineup:
A variety of programming will repeat throughout the day outdoors in UCLA's Dickson Court North and South.
Farhang's Annual Nowruz Spring Walk
Dickson Court & Royce Hall Lawn - 3 p.m.
Children and adults alike are invited to join the UCLA Bruin Marching Band in this year's 6th Annual Spring Walk. Join in on the fun wearing your favorite traditional or colorful costumes. The parade will proceed through Dickson Court and the adjacent areas.
Djanbazian Dance Company
The Djanbazian Dance Company has toured nationally and internationally. For Nowruz, the group will delight audiences with a series of Iranian dances incorporating both traditional and modern themes.
Arezoo Kouchekan's L.A. Daf Ensemble
Daf literally translates as a ‘large Middle Eastern frame drum used in popular and classical music.’ At the Nowruz festival, experience not one - but an entire group of women play Daf together in traditional outfits as an all female ensemble lead by artist Arezoo Koochakan, and featuring folks songs from all regions of Iran.
Storytelling By Boshra Dastournezhad
Renowned Iranian poet, writer, actress and model will be performing a one-woman show for children and adults of all ages recounting the love story between the various elements or characters of the Haft Sîn table.
The UCLA Bruin Marching Band
The famed UCLA Bruin Marching Band joins the Nowruz festivities for the second year in a row, dazzling everyone with the Bruin spirit and helping lead this year's annual Spring Walk, while performing their energizing renditions of popular songs.
Children's Puppet Show
Actress, designer and puppeteer Negar Estakhr is best known for her work on the famed Iranian children’s series Kolah Germezi, Iran’s equivalent of Sesame Street. She along with her daughter Nargol Rashidian will delight children and adults alike with their engaging original puppetry.
Grand Haft Sîn Display
In the center of Dickson Court, all can enjoy a Haft Sîn display. The stunning exhibit features an eye-catching centerpiece of Nowruz displayed in Iranian households to ring in the New Year. Families gather around a detailed table, laden with items that represent fertility, evolution, rebirth, prosperity, love, health and beauty.
Musicians and Dancers
Throughout the campus area, dancers from Robyn Friend's Firuze Dance Company dressed in Iranian folk costumes and musicians playing traditional instruments will be performing, bringing a happy sound and blur of colorful excitement to the proceedings.
Children's Programming
Dickson Court South
There will be a dedicated area for children, with music, arts and crafts, photo-booth, games, tournaments, as well as storytelling by author Sheila Salamat featuring her celebrated book, NIKO'S NIFTY NOWRUZ.
Stilt Walkers
Various Persian mythological and Nowruz characters will be walking around the grounds on stilts, greeting guests.
Iranian Tea House
Festival goers will experience a Persian style decorated tent. Inside the tent, purchase tea and Persian sweets and snacks to welcome the New Year.
6 p.m. Centerpiece Musical Program Starring Acclaimed Iranian Soprano Darya Dadvar inside Royce Hall
Farhang Foundation is honored to announce that this year’s headlining performer at Royce Hall is acclaimed Iranian soprano Darya Dadvar. The Paris-based opera star has put together a special Nowruz program that includes classical Iranian songs interpreted in an operatic style. With recent performances in London and Stockholm, Dadvar brings her silky yet powerful soprano to the festival. She says this concert is inspired by the people of Iran, and dedicates it to Iranians around the world.
Tickets to the Darya Dadvar concert are on sale online through Ticketmaster or in person at the UCLA Central Ticket Office or via phone by calling (310) 825-2101. Tickets range from $25 to $220.
UCLA's Royce Hall & Dickson Court are located at 375 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
Please join us, and Nowruz Shoma Piruz, or Happy New Year!
ABOUT FARHANG FOUNDATION
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Farhang Foundation is a nonreligious, nonpolitical and nonprofit foundation established in 2008 to celebrate and promote Iranian art and culture for the benefit of the community at large. The foundation supports a broad range of academic and cultural activities in Southern California by funding university programs, diverse cultural programs such as the celebrations of Nowruz, Shab-e Yalda as well as musical performances, film screenings and festivals in Southern California. |
For media inquiries contact:
Roxie Sarhangi | roxie@roxiepr.com / 310-666-1546
